Organizers of the 2021 southwest Iowa Legislative Coffees are collaborating this year. The coffees will be held together via Zoom, Saturday, February 13, Saturday, March 13, and Saturday, April 10. The February coffee will take place from 9 – 10:30 a.m., with the option to continue longer, should conversation and participation encourage extending discussion.
Collaborating counties are Adams, Cass, and Union.

Ellen Gerharz, executive director of the Creston Chamber of Commerce, says “It makes sense for safety and convenience this year to hold our legislative time together online. We have space for 100 total participants. People may join on their phones to listen in and participate. Depending on how many join, we may adapt the March meeting for time.” Nancy Turner, organizer for the Corning coffee event, says “We asked Senator Tom Shipley and Representative Tom Moore, who agreed to this format. It also saves travel time, safety, and cost for our state legislators, enabling them to devote their morning engaging with residents.”

Kim Spillers, representative for the Progressive Rural Iowa Development Enterprise economic, says “We’re excited to use Zoom, because of the potential for greater participation. Connecting with our state legislators is valuable for them to hear what’s important to us as they discuss and make decisions on our behalf at the state Capitol.”

To be efficient in this format, people with questions for Senator Shipley or Representative Moore are asked to submit them AHEAD, by noon on Thursday, February 11. Questions will be given to our legislators to be prepared to answer. For those not submitting questions ahead, participants may ask in the “chat” feature of Zoom during the coffee, and will be taken as time allows. The coffee will begin with a brief update by each legislator of the work taking place in his chamber.

If you plan to attend the February 13 coffee, please send questions and requests for the Zoom link to any of the following organizers (listed below). Be sure to leave a message, if no answer to a phone call.

• Ellen Gerharz, chamber@crestoniowachamber.com, 641-782-7021
• Marti Gebbie, chamber@adamscountyiowa.com, 641-322-3243
• Kimberlee Spillers, kim@ghorizons.com, 712-250-0275

The Adair County Sheriff’s Office reports four arrests. At around 3:45-a.m. Saturday, 46-year old Jason Eugene Burg, of Creston, was arrested following a traffic stop near the intersection of Bridgewater Road and Highway 92. Authorities say Burg failed to stop at the intersection. A deputy followed him and observed the pickup weaving back and forth from the center line to the fog line. Upon further investigation, Burg was arrested for OWI/1st offense, when his breath tested at .135%.  He was released later that morning on a citation.

Friday night, 33-year old Austin James Hill, of West Des Moines, was arrested by the Iowa State Patrol, on an Adair County warrant for Driving While License Denied or Revoked. He was released the following evening on a $1,000 cash or surety bond. On January 27th, 20-year old Joel William Blazek, of Greenfield, was arrested on an Adair County warrant for Sexual Abuse in the 3rd Degree, Child Endangerment, and Lascivious Acts with a Child – solicitation. The charge is not new. Sheriff Jeff Vandewater says Blazek’s arrest was for failure to comply with the conditions of his release. He was being held in the Adair County Jail on a $35,000 cash or surety bond, with 10% acceptable.

And, on Jan. 26th, Stuart Police arrested 31-year old Manuel Duran-Arellanes, for Theft in the 1st Degree, following an incident that took place on Nov. 26th. Authorities say a witness saw a vehicle accident at the intersection of the I-80 eastbound off-ramp and the Stuart Road. The vehicle’s driver – who was described as an Hispanic male – fled on foot. The vehicle – a 2019 Nissan Versa, valued at more than $10,000 – was determined to have been stolen. Authorities later caught up with Duran-Arellanes, and detained him based on the information they had received. After the witness positively identified the man as being the driver, Duran-Arellanes was taken into custody and transported to the Adair County Jail, where he was being held on a $10,000 cash or surety bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Arizona man accused of threatening to shoot Iowa lawmakers has been sentenced to five years in prison. The Des Moines Register reports that Cody Leveke, also identified as Cody Meyers in court records, was sentenced Friday in Des Moines’ federal court. Leveke was arrested in December 2019 and convicted in September of interstate communication of a threat.

Authorities say Leveke sent emails to state Sen. Herman Quirmbach saying he was “angry enough to pull a mass shooting down at the State House,” among other things. Prosecutors say Leveke was angry over the failure of a bill that would have allowed him to apply to be removed from the sex offender registry without moving back to Iowa.

Atlantic Police conducted multiple arrests during the month of January. On Jan. 26th, 32-year old James Vanatta, of Atlantic was arrested for shoplifting (Theft in the 5th degree). The day before, 28-year old Cody Christensen, of Atlantic, was arrested for Driving While License Denied or Revoked. And, on Jan. 24th, 32-year old April Medina, of Atlantic, was arrested for Criminal Mischief in the 5th Degree. All three subjects were cited into court and released at the scene.

On January 23rd, 61-year old Joseph Hahn, of Atlantic, was arrested on a Cass County warrant for Violation of Probation. And, 33-year old Jessica Mayo, of Atlantic, was arrested for OWI. January 15th, 48-year old Dwayne Rollins, of Atlantic, was arrested for Domestic Abuse Assault. That same day, 19-year old JR Berdon, of Atlantic, was arrested for Public Intoxication. On Jan. 14th, 23-year old TK Narios, of Atlantic, was arrested by Atlantic Police, on a Cass County warrant for Probation Violation. And, 42-year old Arthur Clark, of Atlantic, was cited for Simple Assault.

January 10th, Atlantic Police arrested 40-year old Dustin Vanhorn, of Atlantic, for OWI. A day earlier, 26-year old Nicholas Renner, of Atlantic, was cited for Driving While Barred. On Jan. 8th, Atlantic Police arrested 30-year old Ashley Fuentes, of Atlantic, for Domestic Abuse Assault. On the 5th, 57-year old Marjorie Lengyel, of Atlantic, was arrested for Driving while barred, and driving while license denied or revoked. She was released with a citation to appear in court.

On Jan. 2nd, 19-year old JR Berdon, of Atlantic, was arrested for Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree, Disorderly Conduct and Public Intoxication. And, 21-year old SK Kovac, of Atlantic, was cited for Criminal Mischief in the 3rd Degree. On January 1st, Atlantic Police cited 50-year old Binte Binios, of Atlantic, into court for Driving While License denied or revoked. All of the aforementioned subjects were booked into the Cass County Jail.

Police in Red Oak cited a man following a non-injury accident Saturday evening. Authorities say 30-year old Jerry Lee Lievsay, of Red Oak, was cited for Failure to Provide Proof of Insurance and Failure to Yield. He was also given a warning for fraudulent use of registration.

The accident happened at around 6:05-p.m., as a 2020 Chevy Equinox driven by 60-year old Debra Sue Robertson, of Clarinda, was traveling east on Highway 34. She signaled to turn merge into the far right lane. A 2006 Dodge Durango driven by Lievsay, was northbound on N. 8th Street at the stop sign.

Lievsay continued into the intersection, where his vehicle struck the Equinox in the rear quarter panel. During the impact, airbags in the Chevy deployed. The vehicle came to rest in the middle of Highway 34. The SUV spun around and came to rest facing south on N. 8th Street. Damage from the crash amounted to $6,600, with the Chevy declared a total loss.

Creston Police today (Monday) report two arrests. Sunday night, 35-year old Manuel Richardson, of Creston, was arrested at his residence, on a Union County warrant for Violation of a Protective Order. Richardson was being held in the Union County Jail, while awaiting a bond hearing. And, Friday afternoon, 34-year old Heather Green, of Creston, was arrested at the Union County LEC, for Violation of a Protective Order. She was later released from the Adams County Jail, on a $300 bond.